Wade eyeing chance to cement Oz first keeper spot in England ODI series

Sydney: Matthew Wade has the chance to cement his place as Australia’s long-term wicketkeeper in the one-day series against England starting on Friday, ahead of the Ashes.

Wade’s performances in the Caribbean have set up an intriguing three-way battle with Brad Haddin and Tim Paine.

Haddin has retained his Cricket Australia contract and will be considered for the next Test against South Africa in Brisbane in November.

Meanwhile, Wade’s former mate Paine is on the comeback trail after having his career stalled by an injured finger.

Paine is still highly rated and has been given an opportunity to impress in Australia A’s four-match tour of England starting next month, the AAP reports.

Wade said he was just trying to come to grips with the unfamiliar conditions before this week’s series opener at Lord’s.

“I want to play well over here. I don`t want to just get the experience. I struggled early in the West Indies tour trying to get used to those conditions. We were only there for a couple of days before we played the first one-dayer,” he said.

“So these two weeks coming over earlier has been a great help for me and some of the younger players that haven`t played over here before. I want to play good cricket and hope to cement my spot in the team, to be honest,” he said.

Wade said he did not consider the five-match series against England to be an audition for next year’s Ashes series.